The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-21
rHE pRArHBR BOYS GOOD LUCK
A story of Fortune in the Oil Fields
Recalled by the Death ola Horse.
From the Ne'o YORK sun

Recalled by the Death ofa Horse.
From the Ne,o York sun.
BRADFORD, PA, Oct l7.-There died on a
farm near Bear Lake, Crawford county, a
few days ago, a horse that in January, 1865,
figured prominently in one of the most i'm
portant operations in the history of oil de
velopment in Venango county--an opera
tion bv which the owner of q horse and his
two brothers, without dollar of capital,
made 81 100000 apiece. The horse was
known as 1.-THE Prather horse,n and was for
merly the property of the late George
Prather, of Meadville 1t was nearly IS
years old.
George Prather was one of three brothers
John, George and Abraham-who started
q country store in the village of Plurner.
Venango county, III 1864. John Prather
was married TO the daughter of an old
farmer named Holmden, who lived on Pit
hole creek, seven miles beyond petroleum
developments in 1854 In the fall of that
wear representatives of a new corporation.
known as the United States Oil Company,
leased a part of old man Holmden's farm
and began putting down well on it
The era of bogus oil COM
panies, which subsequently swindled
The public out of millions of dollars
in few months time, was chen beginning.
No one in the neighborhood of Holmdens
had any faith i'll the existence of oil there
abouts, but the Prather brothers thought
that on the strength of the United States
Company's having begun actual operations
on the farm, they might utilize the fact in
a little speculation of their own. They had
no money, but John Prather, the Son-in
law of the owner of the farm, made the lat
ter an offer Of S:!5, 900 for the refusal of the
remainder Of his farm for sixty days. As
so, 900 was more than ten times the value
of his property, Holmden took the chances
of the boys being able to raise the money,
and readily signed the papers.
By the middle of November the drill on
the United States lease had reached third
sand, the sand in which oil had invariably
been found along Oil creek, but no oil was
found. The drill was continued, however.
to delay the day of failure and to give OBJ
portunfty for the placing of more of the
company's stock with credulous spectators.
Cold weather came on and compelled opera
lions to cease for the time, just as the drill
reached fourth sand, something until then
unknown.
The Prather boys had not done ANYTHING
with the Holmden farm as late as January,
1865. They then concluded to push it in
the market, as they believed few weeks
more would see the failure of the United
States Company's scheme. George Prather
was sent East to find customer for the
farm. At Pittsburg he interested G.. B.
Duncan, of the firm of Duncan g. Kent, in
the matter. and the two went on to Phila-
delphia to dispose of the property Toward
the middle of January the weather grew
mild, and there came a break up. The
Superintendent of the United States Com
pany paid a visit to the well, with tn, in
tention of drawing the tools and abandoning
the work. His curiosity prevailed upon
him to see what the character of the fourth
sand was, and he fired up and started the
drill. 1t had taken but few turns when it
dropped eight feet In the rock, and tapped
the oil vein. The well was tubed, and it
suddenly began flowing, spouting oil at a
300-barrel rate.
That was before the days of oil well
mysteries" and the news of the strike on
the Holmden farm soon spread through the
region. The farm at once jumped among
the millions in value. John and Abraham
Prather were wild. Their brother George
was In the East trying to sell the farm, and,
ignorant of the oil strike, might even then
have disposed of it for song. kilograms
were sent to him at Pittsburg and Philadel-
phia, but he could not be found. There was
as yet no railroad communication between
Oil City and Pittsburg. George Prather
owned very fleet and strong Young
OOull morse ana
started for Pittsburg. He did not leave the
saddle until he had made the entire distance,
nearly 100 miles, over the crooked and hilly
roads along the Allegheny river. At Pitts
burg he took the cars for Philadelphia If
the train had been one minute late the
Prather boys would have lost 1900, 600. for
John met his brother George and Duncan
on the Girard House steps, as they were on
their way to close out the sale of the farm
frs~ H.
for Pittsburg, and reached the Holmden
farm the day before the sixty days refusal
expired.
Pithole creek was then overrun with ex-
cited oil SPECTATORS, and almost any price
was offered for land. The rise of Pithole
city had begun Mrs Holmden, the old
farmers wife, refused to sign the deed to
farm unless the price was put at Sl25, 900
and present of $1,000 in gold was given
her. The 1926, 900 was quickly raised by
selling very small interest in the farm,
but the whole property came near being for
1elted in the search for the $1,000 in gold.
1t was obtained through the banker Culver,
of Housewife, just in time to save the prop
erty. The Prather boys and Duncan made
$4,000 900 on the property, and all left
Plthole before the bottom dropped out. All
three of the boys lost their fortunes after
ward in speculation. George died in Mead
vile. The horse that had carried his brother
to Pittsburg on that eventful January day
with the news of the oil strike at Pithole
was used by him several years, and after
MS death was sold to the farmer who owned
it until its death last week.
Long before the crash came at Pithole it
was known that the capital of the United
States Oil Company is fictitious, and that
Its venture on the Holmden farm was en-
tlrely of the wild cat order, made for the
purpose of selling its stock. That it became
suddenly one of the wealthiest companies
ever organized in the oil regions, and was
enabled to pay enormous dividends was to
none SO much of a surprise as to it's projec-
tors themselves. 1t made the fortune of
every one connected with it, and is referred
TO still as the most successful wild cat ven
cure In the history of any speculation.
A TELEGRAPH STORY.